Two computers or other devices may establish a persistent relationship using an IP network connection. For example, one device may function as a client and the other as a server. The devices may need to maintain their connection so that they can exchange information or so that one can control the other. When one device goes offline, for example, during a restart or to conserve power, the devices must reestablish their connection after they are both back online. Often there is a need to reestablish this connection quickly so that the devices can resume prior operations or respond to current activities.
To reestablish their connection, the devices typically use network location services, such as the Domain Name System (DNS), which resolves queries for domain names into IP addresses to locate computer services and devices. However, network location services are designed for devices that do not move frequently and, therefore, do not frequently change the IP address contained in a network location service record. When a device receives a new IP address, such as due to a move or for other reasons, there can be a latency of thirty minutes or more after the device receives the new IP address before network location service records are updated across the network. Until the network location service records are updated, other network devices will not be able to find the new IP address and will not be able to establish a connection with the device.
Other attempts to solve the problem caused by the delayed updating of the network location service records include, for example, the use of address management nodes that hold updated IP addresses for device, and the use broadcast messages to distribute updated IP addresses when a device comes online or otherwise is assigned a new IP address. The use of address management nodes creates the same problem as a central network location service, such as DNS, wherein the address management nodes must be timely updated for them to be useful. The use of broadcast messages has the undesired effect of broadcasting a message to all devices on the subnet. This is likely to cause network congestion due to excessive broadcast traffic if there are many devices on the subnet, if the network is large, or if devices frequently arrive on the subnet and/or frequently go offline.